


Under Your Skin

by deepestfathoms



Series: SIX Wing AU [4]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Alternate Universe - Wings, Back Pain, Blood, Body Horror, Gen, Growing Wings, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Mom Friend Catherine of Aragon, Mom Friend Katherine Howard, UK Tour Six, this is the tour gang!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26842312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deepestfathoms/pseuds/deepestfathoms
Summary: Howard helps the little hybrid in the production grow her wings.
Series: SIX Wing AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868137
Kudos: 17





	Under Your Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Wings:  
> Howard- Violet-backed starling  
> Aragon- Golden dragon  
> Joan- Honduran white bat, bee hummingbird-barn owl, white dragon hybrid  
> Anne- Prairie falcon  
> Jane- Cabbage white butterfly  
> Cathy- Blue Jay

“Katherine?”

Howard jumped at the sudden call of her name and whirled around, smacking her large, thickly-muscled violet-backed starling wings into the avian behind her. She really didn’t like being snuck up on, and this girl only just appeared to get the memo, seeing as she was spitting out purple-pink feathers that had caught in her mouth. At least she didn’t get her face clawed off; Howard closed her talons to make it seem like she hadn’t been about to do that. 

“Oh. Hello, dear. What can I do for you?” 

Joan was an awfully strange little thing. Unlike basically everyone else in the whole world, she lacked wings. But, at the same time, she had the big yellow ears of a Honduran white bat, the white tiny antlers of a Hydra, the orange-red crest feathers of a bee hummingbird, and the fluffy toasted marshmallow brown breast of a barn owl.

She was a Flightless hybrid.

“C-can you, umm…can you help me with something?” Joan asked. Her ears were folded back against her head, signaling her unease, and her short, chewed up claws kept playing with the hem of her shirt until holes were poked in it.

“With what?” Howard asked.

“I don’t know?” Joan admitted sheepishly, “My back has just been hurting a lot lately. I just thought I was sore, but–” She swallowed hard, “–but it’s worse. Bad. Really, really bad.” She rubbed her palms against her thighs, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face. The poor thing looked absolutely humiliated about having to talk about this, as if it were the most lewd, provocative, NSFW thing in the entire world and not just some back pain. “I-I was wondering if you could just take a look for me? I-it’s weird, I know, but I can’t see myself and since you were my queen… I already asked Anne and Jane, and Anne said no and Jane just ignored me and–”

“Take a breath, Joan.” Howard said gently, but Joan still snapped her mouth shut in an instant. “I’ll help you out. Let’s go to the bathroom and take a look, okay?”

“O-okay. Thank you.”

Howard didn’t really know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t what she saw in the bathroom.

Joan awkwardly took off her shirt so her back could be seen. There, on top of her shoulder blades, were swollen, bright red blemishes. The skin was scarred and split open, bruises painted in blotchy blacks, purples, and blues. Tufts of _something_ were growing out of the gashes.

Howard couldn’t help but gasp and that made Joan tense.

“That doesn’t sound good.” The girl said shakily. “Is it–is it bad?”

Howard didn’t know how to answer. She extended a hand and gently brushed her claws over one of the bumps, but it was still enough to make Joan shriek. The girl staggered and would have cracked her skull open on the sink counter if Howard hadn’t caught her.

“Easy, easy,” Howard murmured, “I’ve got you.”

Joan still went down–the pain must be making her head spin. She couldn’t support her own body. She whimpered and turtles against Howard, who knelt down next to her.

“It hurts,” She choked out.

Howard frowned and held the trembling creature close to her. A moment later, Aragon peeked inside the bathroom, alerted by the scream.

“What’s going o– Oh my god!” Aragon cut her own question off with an exclamation. She stared at the marks on Joan’s back with wide eyes. The frills behind her ears were flared in shock.

“What the fuck?” Anne yelped. “What is _wrong_ with her?”

“Is she growing wings or something?” Jane said. 

Joan just about choked on the air around her. Howard swept one wing around her to hide her bare chest from the others.

“Wh-what?” Joan squeaked, “No. That’s not possible! I-I’m not–” 

“That’s incredible,” Cathy said, her eyes wide with wonder. “I HAVE to study this when it happens! Is it now? Your back looks ready to burst. It’s probably now. Or sometime today.”

“Hush.” Aragon rapped her goddaughter with one of her wings. “You’re scaring the poor thing.”

She was. Joan was paler than usual, paler than someone who just witnessed their entire family be murdered. Her big yellow ears were folded back tightly against her head, like they were trying to melt into her skull, and her stubby talons trembled with the tremors in her hands. She looked up at Howard, lips quivering as her mouth opened and closed in disbelief, horror in her gaping grey eyes.

“We need to get you somewhere more comfortable,” Howard said. “If this is happening. The floor of a bathroom is not the most ideal place to suddenly sprout wings.”

“N-no–” Joan refused, but Howard easily hoisted her to her feet. She wobbled instantly, hindered by the pain, and nearly went down again if it weren’t for Howard holding her up. Aragon came over to give support with her own wings, too. “I can’t– I can’t–” She shook her head frantically.

“I don’t think you have much of a choice,” Aragon said bluntly, stealing another glance at the masses growing out of Joan’s back.

“We can go to our house.” Howard decided. Everyone knew she wouldn’t take no for an answer, so nobody resisted.

The taxi ride to the queen’s apartment felt like it took ages. The entire time, Joan kept squirming in very obvious discomfort, though she did a good job at muffling her whimpers.

She was now sitting on Howard’s bed, staring dazedly at her hands. She only looked up because Howard gently lifted her chin to make eye contact.

“Hey, hey,” Howard murmured when the girl whimpered. “You’ll be okay.”

“Well,” Cathy started from the doorway, “we don’t know. She’s getting wings. I guess they’ll be growing out of her skin. Well, bursting out. Think of it like giving birth! But instead of a baby from the vagina, it’s wings from the back. The pain will probably be similar. Oh, this is so exciting!”

Joan’s face paled, and not just because of the pain she felt. She began to cry in fear while Aragon clobbered Cathy with her wings.

“Th-that’s going to kill me!” Joan sobbed. “I’m going to die!”

“I mean…there’s probably a chance.” Anne said, and she didn’t seem very disappointed by that prospect. Aragon hit her roughly over the head with one wing.

“Hush up!” Aragon snarled, flaring her golden ruff. “You’re making things worse! The poor thing is already terrified as is. We don’t need to put even more images in her head.

Howard looked at Joan, who was shaking even harder. She took one of her hands and stroked the knuckles with her thumb.

“You won’t die, I promise.” Howard told the terrified-looking hybrid. “You’ll be okay.”

Joan doesn’t answer. 

Howard frowned at her pitifully, then glanced at the others peeking inside. Having them in the room would probably only overwhelm Joan even more with all their chatter, so she politely asked them to grab a few things and then go away.

“Alright, sweetheart,” Howard cupped one of Joan’s cheeks to make her look at her once everyone was gone, “That’s gonna have to come off.” She nodded at the shirt.

Joan’s cheeks, like last time, burned bright red, but she had to oblige. At least Howard turned away so she could wrangle off the shirt.

If only it was that easy.

Joan accidentally let a scream slip when the fabric caught on the wounds on her back. Tears exploded from her eyes and she hunched over, feeling something warm and sticky run down her back.

“Joan!”

Howard was immediately by her side and she doesn’t know whether to be humiliated or grateful. The queen appeared to be fretting over her before finally touching her shoulder.

“Joan, Joan,” Howard said, trying to get through to the fledgling, “Joan, it’s okay. Your shirt is just caught, that’s all. Alright? Nod to me if you can hear me, sweetheart. Can you do that for me?”

Joan sucked in a sharp breath and nodded. Howard praised her.

“That’s good, sweetie, that’s very good.”

Howard grabbed the hem of the shirt, which was halfway dangling off of Joan’s shivering body. She hesitated.

“I’m going to get this off of you, okay? Just relax for me.”

Skin was now clotted in the fabric, with blood additionally acting as a sort of glue to plaster the shirt in place. Howard searched for a give, but she couldn’t get very far without making Joan spasm. With no other choice, she pulled, and fresh layers of flesh came free as she did so. Joan wailed, pushing against Howard to try and get her away.

“Stop! Stop!! It hurts!“ Joan sobbed.

“I know, honey, I know,” Howard said sadly, but the shirt had to go.

Howard finally untangled the tank top and set it aside. Over the course of thirty minutes since the reveal in the theater bathroom, more furrows of feathers and fluffy down have managed to grow out of the scars on Joan’s back. There were also iridescent white scales emerging out from where bits of flesh fell off, plating over the area around her shoulder blades. Just looking at it made Howard’s stomach feel weird and she quickly turned her attention back to Joan, who was starting to hyperventilate.

“Shh, shh,” Howard cooed, holding the girl gently and making sure to avoid touching her sensitive back. She cradled Joan’s head against her chest and rocked her back and forth like a mother hen would do with her crying chick during a thunderstorm. “It’s okay. You’re okay, sweet girl. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

Trembling talons gripped tightly to one of Howard’s sleeves and Joan had never seemed so small before. If she could barely handle something getting caught in her wounds, then Howard had no idea how the poor thing was going to get through literal appendages growing out of her back.

The bedroom door creaked open and Aragon peeked in, with Anne, Jane, and Cathy all eagerly looking over her shoulder. He stepped inside and set a bowl of water, antiseptic, a water bottle, and some rags on the nightstand. A frown settled on her feature when she saw the worsened state Joan was in.

“Take care of her,” Aragon said to Howard.

“I will.”

Howard waited a moment after Aragon left, listening for when the footsteps outside in the hallway finally retreated away, then tentatively untangled herself from Joan, who whimpered in resistance. She brushed some hair out of her sweaty face.

“Lay down, sweetie. On your stomach.”

Joan obeyed, too exhausted and in pain to do anything else. She yelped out loud when a warm rag was pressed to one of the bumps on her back. It hurt at first, but then she relaxed as much as one could in her situation. She knew what was coming and that terrified her.

“How’s work going?” Howard suddenly asked while wiping down the girl’s back. She’s trying to distract Joan.

“Huh? Uhh– Good.” Joan answered. The poor thing’s back muscles were so tensed up. Howard would have given her a massage if it weren’t for the fact that she didn’t know if that would help or hurt her. “I’m now– I dunno. Ah– Nevermind.”

Joan was still so nervous, even in her current situation. Always afraid of bothering someone for simply existing.

“No, honey, go on,” Howard said. “Tell me. What are you doing now?”

Joan wrung her claws in the pink pillowcase in front of her head. “Umm– I’m soap carving. I know that sounds silly, but, umm…it’s really satisfying.”

“Is it?” Howard smiled down at her. At the same time, however, her gaze couldn’t help but drift over to Joan’s back. Even after wiping all the gross pus and blood and other residue off of it, it still looked absolutely awful. More skin had peeled off underneath the rag, revealing more scales underneath. At first she had thought they were red, but then realized that was just blood.

“Uh huh,” Joan nodded, unaware of the horrors marring her upper back. “It’s so nice, Katherine. I really, really like it.”

“I’m glad you found a good hobby for yourself,” Howard said. 

Joan went to reply, probably to tell her about all the pretty things she made out of soap she whittled away with her claws, but white hot agony seared up her spine, silencing her. She pressed her face into her pillow, choking on her words. Her fear seemed to come rushing back–or perhaps it never left–and Howard was quick to calm her down by saying nothing was happening yet.

“I can’t do it, Kat,” Joan gasped, barely able to breathe over the unbearable pain she had to have been in. “I can’t. It hurts too much.”

Howard gently thumbed away her tears. She frowned sympathetically. “You have to, honey. I’m sorry.”

Joan laid her head back down, smothering her face against the pillow. Wet blotches from her tears stained the pink fabric, but Howard didn’t really care. As long as she was comfortable, it was okay.

But looking back down at her back, Howard knew the poor little hybrid was anything but comfortable.

She gently touched the plain of ruined flesh, and it was very soft beneath her fingertips. She attempted to feel for any signs of wings, but she couldn’t find anything but inflamed muscles and more scales she accidentally dug up. Maybe it wouldn’t even happen today. Although she couldn’t stand the thought of Joan being in pain any longer than she had to.

Beneath her hand, she felt Joan cough and shudder violently. Discolored feathers bristled further from her shoulder blades, clumping up and getting caught on her frayed skin. Quills were starting to grow out of her flesh, now, not just from the scars. It makes Howard’s own wings feel weird.

Finally, she took notice of Joan’s heavy, uneven breathing and was quick to calm her.

“Easy, sweetheart,” Howard murmured, gently stroking the girl’s hair, “Deep breaths, okay? In and out. You’re going to be okay.”

Joan whimpered and shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. She barely even had the strength to lift her head. 

“I’m gonna die,” She whispered hoarsely. “I’m gonna d-d-d–”

She coughed, signaling a panic attack. Howard leapt into action instantly.

“Joan. Joan, listen to me, alright? I’m going to ask you a few questions. Do your best to answer.” Howard said. “Can you tell me five things you can see?”

Joan blinked deliriously before realizing what Howard was doing. She swallowed thickly and then went to speak, but no words came out. Frustration momentarily overcame her anxiety and panic. Howard helped her drink from the water bottle Aragon had brought in.

“Window,” Joan forced out through her teeth, and had her canines always been that sharp before? “You. Curtains. Bookshelf. Blankets.”

Howard nodded, grabbing and squeezing one of Joan’s hands.

“That’s right, sweet girl,” She said, “Okay, now what are four things you can feel?”

“Pain.” Joan screwed her eyes shut and had to wait for the next wave of pain to dissolve away. “P-pillow. Your h-hand. Blankets.”

“You’re doing great,” Howard said. “Three things you can hear?”

“Your voice. Heartbeat. Heartbeat. Heartbeat, heartbeat, heartbeat–” Joan trails of dazedly, going dizzy from the pain, trembling harder. 

“Breathe, baby, breathe,” Howard reminded her, and Joan snapped out of her trance. “I’m right here. You’re okay.”

Joan nodded shakily and tried to focus on some other sound, but she couldn’t. 

“I c-can’t hear anything else,” Joan said. “I’m sorry.” Her ears drooped sadly.

Howard squeezed her hand and gently lifted Joan’s chin with the other. She brushed her thumb across the girl’s cheek, making her press into the comforting touch hungrily.

“That’s okay. Let’s move on, alright? What are two things you can smell?”

“Blood.” Joan said quickly. “And your perfume.”

“Very good, sweetheart, that’s very good. Now what’s one thing you can t–”

Howard didn’t get to finish her question, however. Nor would Joan be able to answer.

Joan suddenly whimpered sharply, digging her claws into the blankets.

It was happening.

A thunderous pain seared up the girl’s spine and into the rest of her body. The pain was festering, like a wound that would never close. Her heart throbbed heavily against her ribcage, threatening to break the bones apart and add to her suffering. Her muscles simultaneously pulsated and burned, deepening her anguish. They shifted underneath her skin, disgustingly twisting and bulging the taut, pale flesh.

The swollen areas on her back began to grow outward, skin straining with whatever was underneath. At this point, Joan was shrieking and crying loudly. Her flesh finally broke open from the pressure and folded appendages grew out from her shoulder blades, the sound of muscles tearing and tendons popping and bones resetting accompanying it. A sheen of pink and red fluids glistened upon the limbs.

Joan screamed from the pain and the wings stretched outward, flaring open, and splattered blood in a magnificent ruby arc across the room.

Wings, just like Cathy had expected.

Joan collapsed into the bed, sobbing in pain and gasping for air. Howard snapped out her awestruck trance from what she had just witnessed and lifted the girl’s head into her lap, stroking her hair in a calming way.

“It’s okay, baby girl, it’s okay.” Howard murmured, “It’s over. You did it.”

Joan hiccuped, breathing harshly through her nose, and then blinked blearily. She tried to look over her shoulder, but winced and set her head back down, resuming panting like a tired dog.

“Kat…” Joan moaned weakly.

“Right here, baby,” Howard said to her, taking one of her hands. “Let’s see what we have here, why don’t we?”

Right now, it was impossible to tell what color the little downy wings were, as they were soaked in a coating of blood and other fluids, but Howard swore she could see some blue flecks peeking out. She smiled softly.

“The hard part’s over, honey. I’m just going to clean them now, okay?” Joan tensed a little and Howard was quick to reassure her, "No, no, it won’t hurt. I promise. It’ll feel good.”

Joan nodded and allowed Howard to start wiping away the blood and amniotic fluid. True to her word, it didn’t even hurt a little bit.

It did feel good.

Joan sighed softly, the tension slowly rolling away, and leaned against Howard.

Howard wiped in small, soothing circles as she cleared away the splattered mess upon the girl’s sore back, careful not to disturb her as she drifted between the stages of awareness and rest.

The queen was very careful while cleaning the pristine feathers until they were soft and gleaming, straightening them out as she went. As they dried, they fluffed up. Joan, despite being an older teenager and a fledgling, mainly had down at this stage. Howard rubbed her fingers through the portion she’s already completed and Joan cooed softly, leaning into her touch, the little wings fluttering slightly in contentment.

“Do you like that?” She rubbed at the spot once more and smiled when she felt the lightest nod. “Well then, I’ll have to do this a bit more, but I need to finish first.“

Working her way through the small wings, over every feather, Howard took the time to ensure that nothing was left untouched. And when the gore was finally removed, the sight was breathtaking.

Even though the color was just starting to set in and the true masterpiece wouldn’t show until she shed her baby-soft down and grew in the flight feather, Joan’s wings were strangely beautiful. The base was brilliant ebony and silver-brown, with tufts of mixed rich green and iridescent blue, as if emeralds and sapphires had been melted together and then flung all over her wings. 

And then she spread the wings to get the insides and saw that there were no feathers. Not a single quill. Instead, there was a plain of smooth white flesh. Just like the bat she took after from her Vesper side.

This little one truly was a hybrid. And what mind-boggling, breathtaking wings she had, indeed.

Joan was completely asleep when Howard finished completely. Howard unfurled her own wings and hooded them around Joan, just like a mother hen would with her own babies. And that’s exactly what she felt like. 

A few minutes later, some of the others peeked in.

“Can we come in?” Aragon asked. “I don’t think I can wait any longer. And is she okay?” 

Howard chuckled and motioned for them to come inside. “Just stay quiet. She’s sleeping.”

Joan’s wings, what they would look like, had been a mystery since the day she was born. Everyone said she would never get a pair of her own, she would just remain a Flightless-hybrid freak her entire life, and yet here she was. And to see them now was a privilege only few would have firsthand. Who got to see them and when was completely up to the starling guarding the girl as if she were her own chick.

But Howard unfolded her wings away, letting them all see. Sapphire and green, ebony and silver shimmered in the lamplight. She could already see that Aragon was going to brag about this to everyone and anyone, all the time, for any reason.

“Aren’t they amazing?” Howard beamed.

“Oh my,” Aragon murmured.

Aragon reached down to pet the wing nearest her, eyes darting up to Howard for such permissions that were needed. Her fellow queen nodded softly as a go ahead, and she ran her fingers through the soft down. She touched gently, so gently.

“They are magnificent.“ She finally said, smiling when the wing fluttered under her hand. “What a strange little thing she is. Absolutely beautiful.”

Anne and Jane seemed to think otherwise, wrinkling their noses at the way her underwings had no feathers or when they saw the blood spattered all across the wall and ceiling, but were smart enough to keep their mouths shut. They left after a moment, having nothing nice to say, and Cathy soon followed after she was restricted from taking photos for research purposes.

“Oh, look at her scales,” Aragon said. She brushed her fingertips over the ring of sparkling white scales around the base of Joan’s wings. Joan shuddered underneath her touch and Aragon smiled, chuckling softly. “She’s ticklish there. What a cutie.”

“Isn’t she?” Howard grinned. “I’ve never seen something so peculiar, and yet so perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

Aragon spread her wings and enveloped Joan with them, overlapping Howard’s own. They stayed like that for the rest of the evening until Joan woke up, whimpering from aches and bruises from the growing process, and they sprung up, already prepared to tend to their girl.


End file.
